Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on VCEL. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Vericel in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a buy rating and a $57.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research cut their target price on shares of Vericel from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Vericel in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They issued a buy rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Vericel from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $55.75.

Vericel Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCEL opened at $41.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of -4,169.00 and a beta of 1.67. Vericel has a 52-week low of $30.18 and a 52-week high of $54.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.13.

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $52.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.59 million. Vericel had a net margin of 0.37% and a return on equity of 0.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Vericel will post 0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total value of $235,361.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,850. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Sean C. Flynn sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.18, for a total transaction of $782,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 707 shares in the company, valued at $36,891.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven C. Gilman sold 5,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.35, for a total transaction of $235,361.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $443,850. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,333 shares of company stock worth $1,917,562 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vericel

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vericel by 86.1% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 482 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Vericel by 319.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 662 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vericel by 9.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Vericel by 178.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vericel during the 1st quarter worth about $147,000.

Vericel Company Profile

Vericel Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular therapies for sports medicine and severe burn care markets in North America. The company markets autologous cell therapy products comprising MACI, an autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane for the repair of symptomatic, and single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee; Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns; and NexoBrid, a biological orphan product for eschar removal in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns.